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It seems like I have been waiting for months for the will of Ann GEERING of Hailsham, Sussex (my 6x great-aunt) to arrive. I was hoping this would provide me more details of her relations and confirm a connection between the GEERINGs of Hailsham, Sussex and Lewes, Sussex.

There was such disappointment when I opened the envelope and read the will. The only beneficiary was Ann’s niece Jane. I already know about Jane (the one who drowned in the common pond at Hailsham), I knew she was the sole executrix, but had hoped that someone else also benefited from Ann’s will.

Despite the wait I am no further forward with my research, perhaps it is my fault. Perhaps the disappointment is of my own making, was I creating false expectations about the contents of the will? Yes, with hindsight I probably was expecting too much.

Interestingly there is one further record that is probably related to Ann’s will that I need to investigate. East Sussex Record Office have a series of valuation books from A. Burtenshaw and Son who were auctioneers and valuers in Hailsham.

The valuation book dated March to May 1864 (ESRO BUR/2/1/134) contains an entry described in the catalogue Access to Archives as “p.51 Hailsham: household (late Geering), 1864″. I feel that this has got to be related to the execution of Ann’s will and although it probably won’t help my research, it might give me a bit of an insight into the life of Ann.